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What if one of the most common vaccine rituals in small animal practice doesn’t help patients at all? We sit down with researchers Jane Sagaser and Dr. Rachael Kreisler to unpack a randomized clinical trial that tested whether replacing the needle after drawing up a canine subcutaneous vaccine improves comfort or outcomes. The result is a clear, practice-changing insight: no clinical benefit for dogs, and no reliable advantage detected by blinded injectors.

Together we explore how the team measured what matters—objective heart rate changes as a proxy for stress and a holistic, blinded reaction score at the moment of injection—while keeping the study grounded in real clinic workflows. We put long-standing beliefs under the microscope, tracing how dramatic but poorly documented images of bent needle tips shaped habits, and we connect the findings to human vaccine guidance that does not recommend needle swapping after vial puncture. Jane and Rachael also point out when replacement still makes sense: visible damage, contamination, or drops that compromise safety.

The conversation widens into sustainability, cost, and sharps volume, showing how small changes in protocol can reduce waste and needle-stick risk without sacrificing patient care. A surprising pattern pops up when the rabies vaccine is given second in the right rear limb, prompting new questions about site sensitivity, formulation effects, and the potential influence of temperature or tactile desensitization. We get candid about measurement challenges—from blood pressure cuffs to wearable heart rate sensors—and highlight the need for better species-ready tools to capture continuous physiologic data.

If you value evidence over habit, this is a guide to updating your standard operating procedures with confidence. You’ll hear practical strategies for critical appraisal, ideas for simple clinic-based studies, and a call to test assumptions rather than inherit them. Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a review to help more veterinary professionals find data that improves patient comfort, safety, and sustainability.

JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.10.0661

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